Rockies call-up Spring Training MVP, former second-best prospect in baseball

The Colorado Rockies first-round selection from the 2020 MLB Draft will join the team’s first-rounder from 2023 in getting called up to the big leagues this week.

Zac Veen has gotten his first promotion to The Show, as the left-handed hitting and right-handed throwing outfielder will debut for the Rockies in the coming days. Once a top-25 prospect in baseball according to multiple scouting services, the 23-year-old won the club’s Spring Training MVP award for his .270/.352/.460 slashline with two homers and 11 RBI over 71 plate appearances in the Cactus League. But Veen didn’t crack the Opening Day roster, and now that’s being fixed as the Rockies send down young bat Jordan Beck.

Veen’s hot bat kept red into Triple-A, where he’s batting .387 with a home run, eight RBI, and seven runs scored as well as a stolen base over 31 at-bats in eight games. He lit up Albuquerque on Saturday by going five-for-five with three extra-base hits in a 14-3 ‘Topes win.

.@zacveen stays hot with his fourth hit of the game, an RBI single!

B5: Mariachis 11, Bees 3 pic.twitter.com/yOfz0rjCC9

— Albuquerque Isotopes (@ABQTopes) April 6, 2025

By holding back Veen from the major-league roster for 16 days, the Rockies could gain another year of contract control relative to arbitration and free agency for Veen. If he is on the major-league roster for 172 days — or finishes in the top two of NL Rookie of the Year voting — he would be credited with one year of service that would count on the clock toward arbitration and free agency. However, the Rockies did not wait 16 days after all. They could send him down around the All-Star Break again if they’re worried about the long-term, though the team did just forgo this strategy with Chase Dollander, who debuted on Sunday. It’s a move they pulled in the past with both Kyle Freeland and Trevor Story—likely bringing the shortstop’s career in Denver to an end a year earlier than needed.

Veen has had quite a wild ride through the minors. He was named the second-best prospect in all of baseball back in 2022, but he repeated Doube-A and dealt with injuries in the high minors—which stunted his growth.

But Veen is finally here after a long strange journey and dealing with no minor season his first year of pro ball, too—the question is, how much will his bat play with the big club? Veen has shown some strong pop through his minor-league career.

Meanwhil,e the Rockies moved to 2-7 on the season on Sunday behind a decent debut from Dollander.